LSI closes Israel center, fires 70

LSI closed the center, based on start-up StorAge, because of strategic changes.

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) is closing its Israeli center in Nesher and firing its 70 employees. The center is based on start-up StorAge Networking Technologies Inc., which LSI acquired in late 2006 for $55 million.

StorAge Networking raised $34 million between its founding in 1999 and its acquisition by LSI seven years later. At the same time, LSI acquired Agere, which also had operations in Israel, for $4 billion.

"LSI closed the center because of strategic changes at the company," said center director Eli Shapiro, who founded StorAge. He added that LSI had decided to focus investments on other production lines than the ones that the Nesher center worked on. "We're not talking bankruptcy, or problems in the center's activity, which was technically successful. That's how it is in high tech; things are dynamic. You can't have it all good. We had very good people here, but nobody imagines that it's like working at the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel)."

Shapiro is now helping the fired employees find other jobs. He said that LSI is keeping its center in Rosh Ha'Ayin, which employs a few score people. LSI has over 5,000 employees worldwide.

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